Customer Reviews

A Room with a World View: 50 Years of Inter-continental Hotels and Its People 1946-1996

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Intercontinental Hotels was founded in 1946 by Juan Trippe, the head of Pan Am. Pan Am wanted to have deluxe hotel accomodations in the cities that their expanding airline served. Many countries, especially in the third world, simply did not have hotels at the level of quality that rich Americans expected. Thus Intercontinental Hotels was born. Initially called International Hotels, it was changed to Intercontinental because consensus was that sounded more classy.

This 240 page book is a heavy over-sized hardcover profusely illustrated with colour and black and white photos. There are period photos of Intercontinental hotels around the world as well as vintage advertising from the early days of the intercontinetal travel.

Today long distance airplane travel is a mundane and often harrowing experience. This book provides a window to a time when "jet-setters" were an exclusive group that expected to be pampered even in such exotic locales as Nairobi and Muscat. The "can-do" and "think big" attitude that made America great said that "if you build it, they will come." Trippe and Pan Am created a hotel chain offering worldwide luxury accomodations where before none had existed. In some countries existing hotels that lived up to Intercontinental standards took on the brand. The famous Carlton Intercontinental in Cannes is one such place where a century old grand hotel became part of the chain.

Great book about a fascinating topic that is unfortunately OOP and hard to find. Highly recommended.